9 Ways to Get Tickets to 'Hamilton'

The Tony Awards are still a week away but we already know which show will sweep its record-breaking 16 nominations: Hamilton. It's so difficult to get tickets to the perpetually sold-out show that it's become a universal punch line. Some people are getting so desperate they're willing to spend upwards of $2,000 per ticket at resale sites. So, HOW does one manage to see the show without selling an arm and a leg? Here, a few legit (and not-so-legit) ways to go about it.

You'll get immediate alerts as soon as blocks of tickets are available. One caveat: you might have to wait until fall 2017 (or even 2018!) to actually see the show.

2. Enter the digital #Ham4Ham lottery every damn day

Every show, 21 lucky folks get to see Hamilton for only $10 each. That can be you if you try the digital lottery, which you can enter day-of starting at 9:30 a.m. (matinees accept names until 11am and evening performances accept until 3 p.m. or 4 p.m. depending on the day). You'll be alerted via email if you won. Note: You only have 60 minutes to claim your tickets so GET ON IT–there could be up to 50,000 people hoping to take your place. Make sure to also tune into the digital #Ham4Hams, always full of surprises.

3. Enter the #Ham4Ham lottery in-person

For Wednesday matinees, Hamilton hosts its lotteries outside the Richard Rodgers Theater. You can start putting your names in at 12 p.m. and winners are drawn at 12:30 p.m. Literally hundreds of people show up to this lottery so chances to win the $10 seats are slim. You at least get treated to a 5-minute show from creator Lin-Manuel Miranda himself, who frequently welcomes famous guests to perform.

4. Cross your fingers at the cancellation line

Hamilton has a cancellation line for every show in case (insane) people give up their tickets. You'll still have to buy them full-price. Here are the recently updated rules:

You can manage to get same-day tickets but be warned: A quick search shows the cheapest still run over $500. Also, you could be buying fake tickets. If you're willing to take the risk, Seatgeek aggregates a bunch of the third-party sellers so you can see them all in one place. Official vendor Ticketmaster has some resale listings too, but they're also reserved for people who eat solid gold for breakfast.

WHY WHY WHY

Ticketmaster

6. Impersonate a high school student

20,000 11th graders from New York City will get to watch Hamilton for only $10 as part of The Rockefeller Foundation and the show's #EduHam initiative. While this option is not totally feasible, it's there for you. If you're willing to put in a little more work, you can also try...becoming a teacher? We won't judge you for doing it just for Hamilton.

7. Befriend a cast member of the show

If you're in New York City this is doable and tooootalllyy not creepy at all, promise! A lot of the ensemble members teach classes at Broadway Dance Center, so you can take a couple of lessons, chat up the teacher afterward, and next thing you know BOOM! Free tickets. Mayyybeeee. If you're the sportier type, head to a game with Hamilton's undefeated softball team. It's a real thing and principal actors Chris Jackson (George Washington) and Anthony Ramos (Philip Hamilton/John Laurens) are part of it. YOU NEVER KNOW!

8. Move Travel to another city

Hamilton is going on tour, y'all! It might not be the original cast, but you'll be getting the full experience. It arrives in Chicago in September 2016, in San Francisco in March 2017, in Los Angeles in August 2017, and in Boston sometime in 2018. Mark your calendars! Set your ticket alerts! Road trip, anyone?

TFW When you hear

9. Get famous

This, we can't really help you with. But, it's the one thing that helps you score a seat according to Hamilton's PR guy, Sam Rudy, who explains they're reserved for "critics, celebrities, politicians, family members, professional colleagues, theater people." Sooo...maybe go audition for some reality competition, win it, get really famous, THEN, at last, get Hamilton tickets! Logical. I hear The Voice is doing its summer auditions?

Consolation Prizes

So if all of the above failed, what now? You can:

1.Listen to the whole original Broadway cast recording start to finish for free(!) on Spotify. And don't worry, if you ever do get to see the show your experience will only be better when you know all the words. While you're there...do yourself a favor and listen to the cast recording of In the Heights(Lin-Manuel's Tony Award-winning first Broadway musical, also hip-hop inspired), too.

2. Get the Hamilton book. It breaks down the making of the entire musical with personal annotations of all the songs, Genius-style, from Lin-Manuel himself. Sure, it isn't the actual show but, truthfully, you'll get just as inspired from absorbing the seven-year process it took to come to life. PS–There's also a PBS #HamilDoc in the works coming in fall so watch out for that, too.

3.Watch a different show! Broadway is thriving right now, and you'll have a much easier time getting tickets for other shows especially if you do rush or lottery for discounted prices. There's a constantly updated guide to all shows' policies here (you rarely have to pay over $40 for front row or box seats)!

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